Fight Bias with Content Strategy

Fight Bias
with Content Strategy
Using Mental Shortcuts for Good Instead of Evil

#fightbias @movie_pundit www.daviddylanthomas.com#fightbias @movie_pundit www.daviddylanthomas.com
David Dylan Thomas
Principal, Content Strategy
Think Company

What is cognitive bias?

A series of shortcuts our minds
take that often help, but sometimes
hurt.

Confirmation Bias

These biases are extremely
difficult to combat
You may not know you have them (bias blind spot)
90% of cognition happens below the conscious level
Even if you do know, you do it anyway!

There are content and design choices we can
make that can help keep harmful cognitive
biases in check (or leverage them for good).

Blind Résumés

Whom would you rather hire?

Why do you need that information?

Content Strategy: Signal vs.
Noise
Signal
Qualifications
Experience
Noise
Gender
Race

Cognitive Fluency

Easy to read = Easy to do

Hard to read = Hard to do

Which of these would you rather fill out?

Which of the following is
true?
There are 53 African
nations
in the United Nations
There are 55 African
nations in the United
Nations

“An apple a day keeps the doctor away”

“If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit”

Whom do you trust?

How to fight the framing effect

Should this person drive this car?

How might this person drive this car?

How might we do a better job of
moving people around?

What about our own
cognitive biases?

Notational bias

Until 1986, the New
York Times
prohibited the use of
“Ms.” as an honorific
for women.

Language doesn’t just describe reality, it shapes it.
Mbiyimoh Ghogomu

2 4 6 ?

2 4 6 8

2 4 6 7

Deformation
Professionnelle

Our jobs are harder
than we think

Project Maven
Battlefield AI

Project Maven
Battlefield AI
Dragonfly
Censored Search in China

We must rapidly begin the shift from a ‘thing-oriented’
society to a ‘person-oriented’ society. When machines and
computers, profit motives and property rights are considered
more important than people, the giant triplets of racism,
materialism, and militarism are incapable of being
conquered.

We must rapidly begin the shift from a ‘thing-oriented’
society to a ‘person-oriented’ society. When machines and
computers, profit motives and property rights are considered
more important than people, the giant triplets of racism,
materialism, and militarism are incapable of being
conquered.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Thank You

Fight Bias with Content Strategy

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